Chapter 54: As Hard as Climbing to Heaven

After leaving the main hall, Lin Dong entered the new inn. Wang Liuzhi was busy with a few employees making final preparations before opening. Upon seeing Lin Dong enter, Wang Liuzhi immediately put down his tasks and came over.
“Owner, why did you come here?”
“You guys are busy. I’m here to check on Boss Wen and his daughter,” Lin Dong replied casually. After Wang Liuzhi turned to leave, he strode toward the back door.

The new inn consisted of two buildings. The first building was the dining area, with two floors—larger than an ordinary restaurant. There were twenty dining tables on the first floor and ten private rooms on the second. In total, there were thirty dining tables, enough to support the inn’s system reaching level 5.

The second building was the accommodation area, also two stories high, with thirty rooms on each floor—sixty rooms in total, which met the capacity requirement for level 5 as well.

As for the rest… Xilan City wasn’t very large, with only two or three hundred merchants passing by daily. To keep the inn fully occupied every day, even with level 5 facilities, it was manageable for the dining area. But to fill all sixty rooms, at least two of the other four inns in Xilan City would need to be bought and closed down to meet the requirement.

Lin Dong had already asked Wang Liuzhi to take care of this. As for whether more inns would open nearby to compete, that was beyond his control—let each rely on their own abilities!

The backyard was twice as large as the old inn. By a stone table, Boss Wen and his daughter were whispering to each other. When they saw Lin Dong, they stood up immediately.
“Boss Wen, my reputation isn’t too bad, is it?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Wen Wangzhong nodded smilingly, “Not only is it not bad, Owner Lin’s reputation is so good it’s hard to believe.”
“The workers will all move here to stay tonight,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “I hope you won’t mind if we stay in the backyard together.”
Wen Wangzhong quickly shook his head. “Owner Lin, you’re too kind. The backyard is quiet and free from distractions—perfect for taking shelter.”
“That’s great!” Lin Dong nodded.
“By the way, Owner Lin, wait a moment.” Wen Wangzhong went back to his room. When he came out, he held a small cloth bag.
“Owner Lin, inside are six first-tier spirit stones and one second-tier spirit stone. Take a look.”
Taking the bag, Lin Dong placed it on the mobile counter. Glancing at Wen Ying standing nearby, he turned his attention back to Wen Wangzhong. After thinking for a moment, he said directly, “Boss Wen, from that young master of the Liu family, I heard you seem to have offended County Magistrate Cheng?”

Wen Wangzhong forced a wry smile. “Don’t even mention it. It was just last month! I went to Qiufeng City to buy some antiques. On the way back, I encountered bandits, and all my goods were stolen. I was lucky to survive. The antique shop lost a huge amount of silver. To make matters worse, it happened to be County Magistrate Cheng’s 40th birthday, and there were far fewer gifts than in previous years, so…”
“A greedy and corrupt official!”
Wen Ying couldn’t help but curse angrily.
“Xiao Ying, don’t talk nonsense,” Wen Wangzhong said anxiously, glancing at her.
Lin Dong smiled and spoke up, “If Boss Wen wants the antique shop to reopen, I can talk to the county magistrate’s wife. There should be no problem.”
Wen Wangzhong was shocked. “Lin, the innkeeper, knows the county magistrate’s wife?”
“Boss Wen, there’s no need to worry. I also hate Cheng Wencai. It’s just that… since the inn is here, we have to bow our heads.”
Wen Wangzhong felt relieved. He understood what this meant—the Lin’s Inn had also been troubled by Cheng Wencai, but the difference was that the innkeeper had the means to resolve the problem through the county magistrate’s wife.
Realizing this, Wen Wangzhong showed delight. “Can the innkeeper really get County Magistrate Cheng to recall the officials who keep causing trouble at the antique shop every day?”
Lin Dong nodded.
After getting confirmation, Wen Wangzhong grew gloomy again. Without those officials causing trouble, if the antique shop wanted to reopen, there was still the problem of Zhou Jinchi.
Being a good person to the end, since Lin Dong had already helped Wen Wangzhong deal with Cheng Wencai, he would naturally find a way to handle Zhou Jinchi as well. But… he wouldn’t say that now. After everything was settled, it was time for the father and daughter to return to the antique shop. The top-notch chef they had managed to recruit might run away the very next day.
“Miss Wen Ying, may I ask you a question?” Lin Dong suddenly said.
“Huh?” Wen Ying was confused.
“I heard that after you moved to Lin’s Inn, Jiang Kui came to me, crying and begging me to take him in. I felt sorry for him, and since he didn’t want pay, I hired him as the inn’s chef,” Lin Dong said casually. “I didn’t expect him to be greedy and insist on working for me for free for life just to ask you a question.”
Wen Ying became flustered, her delicate face turning red like a ripe apple.
Lin Dong ignored her expression and continued, “He asked me to ask you—what kind of husband do you hope to marry?”
“A… husband?”
Wen Ying had never heard such a direct question before. She blushed furiously, tears welling in her eyes.

“Shopkeeper Lin, Xiao Ying is shy—please don’t embarrass her,” Wen Wangzhong said, feeling sorry for her yet not knowing how to rebuke Lin Dong, so he quietly used her as a shield to comfort Wen Ying behind him.
Girls in this world are extremely reserved, and Lin Dong knew that. He had no way of making a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl cry. With Jiang Kui’s appearance and loud voice, he really couldn’t win her over without some tactics.
If one has no shame, they’re invincible—especially when it comes to courting girls. Over the years, Jiang Kui had only dared to take a distant look at Wen Ying; he was hopeless. Lin Dong had to step in himself, hoping to say something that would spark Wen Ying’s interest and give her an impression of Jiang Kui. That way, even if she felt awkward seeing him, her curiosity might drive her to speak to him.
If they talked long enough and discovered each other’s strengths, love might develop over time. But if they couldn’t even speak to each other, there was no chance at all.
Seeing that Lin Dong wasn’t pressing further, Wen Wangzhong sighed helplessly and said, “Shopkeeper Lin, Xiao Ying likes refined scholars. Jiang Kui… it’s simply impossible.”
Refined scholars?
Lin Dong was stunned. Wen Ying should like a kind, devoted, and filial man—as long as she could get used to Jiang Kui’s roughness and loud voice, it would definitely work. But refined scholars… not only was it unlikely externally, but even internally, no matter how hardworking and studious Jiang Kui was, it would take years before he could achieve that.
After a long pause, Lin Dong asked, “Is there not even a slightest chance?”
Wen Wangzhong shook his head and patted Wen Ying’s shoulder, whispering, “Xiao Ying, go back to your room for now. I’ll talk with Shopkeeper Lin.”
Relieved as if pardoned, Wen Ying still didn’t dare look up and ran back to her room, her face red.
Wen Wangzhong sighed and explained, “Xiao Ying has loved reading and learning since she was young. She’s always dreamed of being able to compose poetry effortlessly. Unfortunately, I lost my wife early on and know nothing about household chores. She’s sensible and has never gone to an academy; she’s always stayed at home to help. Although I’ve taught her to read, I could only teach her that much. Perhaps for these reasons—though she’s never said it—I can tell she only likes scholars who understand poetry and literature.”
Lin Dong was at a loss. Unless Wen Wangzhong spoke up and tried to change Wen Ying’s mind to like Jiang Kui, the rough man, it would be as impossible as climbing the sky.

Let Wen Wangzhong speak first… Not to mention that Wen Wangzhong would be willing to give up the shop he had worked hard to build over decades for his daughter, he certainly wouldn’t marry her off for some mere benefit. Even if Wen Wangzhong agreed to let Wen Ying marry Jiang Kui, Lin Dong still couldn’t overcome his own objections. Although Jiang Kui wasn’t a bad person, that didn’t mean Wen Ying would be happy marrying him. Without any reason or grudge, he wouldn’t do such a thing to harm others.
With the issue of the terrible employee resolved, unexpectedly, the plan to get the excellent chef also fell through.
Lin Dong sighed slightly. He had no choice but to go back and think of another solution. Giving up like this was truly unacceptable to him.
Continuing the conversation was pointless. After chatting a bit with Wen Wangzhong, Lin Dong got up to leave.
In the main hall, he saw Wang Liuzhi and the others arranging the firecrackers needed for the new inn’s opening, reminding them to be careful with fire. Then Lin Dong returned to the back yard of the old inn.
Sssss…
On the stone table, Silver Rabbit was holding a carrot and staring at Lin Dong, seemingly reminding him that it had been two or three days since they played the chase game.
That stare made Lin Dong remember that the maximum multiplier for self-improvement in the stables had reached 3 times. The sooner Silver Rabbit fully recovered, the sooner he could get the reward for the hidden task—just 0.2 spirit stones more per day. Lin Dong immediately brought up the inn’s system and set the self-improvement multiplier to 3 times.